“Yes, the entire kingdom is said to burn and disappear in the dream. A dragon will breathe fire, and everything will be consud. My master believes the dragon is the current prince. That’s why Mr. lmond ca this ti, to convey my master’s words to the royal family, right?”
“......”
“I’ll ask the sa of you. Please.”
Abel bowed his head deeply. lmond stared at him, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. Was Abel truly this innocent, or was he simply a fool?
“Do you actually believe your master’s words?”
“Yes.”
“......”
“I’m sorry. I heard you talking outside earlier. Do you not trust , Mr. lmond?”
“It’s not about trust! But who would believe such a claim based on a dream...?”
lmond’s voice had risen with emotion, but then he paused, taking a deep breath and furrowing his brow.
“You don’t have the gift of foresight like your master, so why insist that this dream is true? Who would believe you?”
“But it’s not just once.”
When lmond asked again, Abel’s eyes filled with concern.
“He has the sa dream every night. It’s been a month already.”
“......”
“The dream is becoming more vivid, more clear. Every ti, a dragon flies through the sky with gray eyes, and a huge fire erupts. People are trapped in the flas, burning to death. And...”
lmond interrupted Abel as he hesitated to continue.
“And?”
“Among those people, he saw you, Mr. lmond. You were holding the hand of a pregnant woman and a boy, about ten years old.”
A strange chill ran down lmond’s spine, and for a mont, he was speechless. But soon, he dismissed it, letting out a hollow laugh.
“Well, it seems your master really needs care. I married early, but we don’t have any children. And a ten-year-old child? Ridiculous.”
“I don’t know either. But according to my master, the child looked just like you, lmond. And you called him ‘Roy.’”
This ti, lmond’s mouth went dry. The na ‘Roy’—it was a na he and his wife had chosen long ago for their future child. It was a na only they knew, but over ti, as their childless years passed, they buried the na in their mories. How did he know? Was it just a coincidence? lmond remained silent, but then Abel ntioned sothing else, as if he rembered more.
“And you said the palace is the first place to burn. You ntioned sothing strange.”
“Sothing strange?”
“Well, that...”
Abel hesitated and looked up toward the sky.
“There were people in the palace, drinking a black potion while burning, and they were laughing as if they couldn’t feel any pain.”
A chill ran down lmond’s spine. People laughing while their bodies burned. It was nothing more than the crazy ramblings of a sick person. He tried to rationalize it, to dismiss it, but the cold feeling on his skin didn’t go away.
“Wow, I’m hearing all sorts of things. Your master must really be ill.”
lmond stood up coldly, pretending it was nothing. If he kept talking with Abel, he might start believing in the dream too. As he rose, Abel imdiately stood as well.
“It’s dark, so you might trip. Let guide you.”
With that, Abel stepped forward. lmond felt a slight relief seeing Abel’s large figure moving quickly. Despite his rough appearance, he truly was kind. Perhaps it was because of this quality that his master had chosen him as a disciple.
Swoosh!
“Ah!”
The one who said he would guide him slipped and rolled down the steep path. Hearing the scream echo in the darkness, lmond rembered Abel’s weakness his master had ntioned.
‘He’s kind. He works hard. He’s also very persistent. Even animals seem to like Abel and find it easy to teach him. But he’s very sloppy.’
If he’s sloppy twice, he’ll break his neck. lmond raised his head, eyes wide, determined not to fall as well, and took a step forward.
****
“This is already the 30th person. Thirty Regas who couldn’t withstand the prince for a year and ran away!”
A strong voice echoed through the inner chamber deep in the Prince’s Palace.
The prince still doesn’t speak and is said to bathe in blood every day. He has lost his mind. It’s clear he is insane.
No one objected when they said that an eight-year-old child had gone mad. The bright light in the room ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) revealed the expressions of the five people seated around the large table. Most looked puzzled, furrowing their brows, and soon voices of dissatisfaction erupted.
“If they had restrained the queen from the start, we wouldn’t be in this ss. Look at what that woman has done. It’s strange that the prince isn’t going crazy.”
“Why bring that up now? The queen was necessary. We need to think about the future.”
“How can we discuss the future when the prince is like this? We can’t handle a mad king who doesn’t speak and just kills people every day, no matter who they are!”
The voices grew louder as they shouted at each other. Eventually, soone pounded the desk to regain control.
“Everyone, please be quiet! Let’s hear Truyde’s opinion.”
Fortunately, the call for silence worked. Everyone turned to Truyde, who seed lost in thought.
“Yes, please, say sothing. Isn’t Duke Truyde partly responsible for the situation having reached this point? Why did it affect the queen so excessively when there had never been issues before...”
“Marquis Norhox.”
Truyde slowly raised his eyes and spoke. Norhox, who had stood up to speak, swallowed his words. Though the young Duke’s face bore a kind smile, it was not easy to confront him. In the King’s Heart, all mbers stood equally, regardless of status.
“If you want to know the problem, Marquis Norhox, I’m willing to personally investigate.”
“Ah, no, it’s not like that...”
“If it’s not like that, then please sit down.”
With a commanding voice, Norhox stiffened for a mont. He couldn’t ignore the power of the Truyde family, even if they shared royal blood. Truyde was far more difficult to deal with than the previous Duke. As Norhox quieted, the one who had first asked Truyde a question spoke again.
“What do you think the problem is?”
“There must be a problem with the Regas raised by the Norhox family.”
“Duke Truyde!”
Norhox stood up again, fuming with anger. Truyde looked up at him with gentle eyes.
“Ah, I misspoke. It’s not the Regas, but the eyes of the Marquis who selects the Regas that are the problem.”
“How long has our family been doing this? Now those words are an insult to my family!”
“That’s why it’s a problem.”
Truyde interrupted firmly.
“Every ti a new king ascends to the throne, a Regas always receives the sa education and training, so it’s not effective.”
There was a pause as everyone agreed. After a while, soone asked what should be done, and Truyde reluctantly gave an answer. It was not a welco one for the gloomy Norhox.
“We need to find a new Regas. Completely different from now.”
****
lmond, who returned ho after visiting the ailing Wiedel, had no intention of heading to the palace. He still had a few days left of vacation, and there was no rush to return to work since no one cared if he was gone. But unexpected news awaited him at ho. When lmond entered, his wife rushed to him and hugged him with a smile.
“Honey, I’m pregnant! We’re going to have a baby. Our long-awaited ‘Roy’ is going to be born!”
lmond stood there dumbfounded as his wife embraced him, tears of joy in her eyes. But Abel’s words echoed in his mind.
‘People are trapped and burned to death in a sea of flas. And in the midst of those people, Master saw lmond holding the hands of his pregnant wife and a boy who looked about ten years old.’
****
Hunting only as much as necessary—this was what the teacher always emphasized, but at tis like this, Abel’s hesitation was gone. He alternated between the deer trapped in the snare and the rabbit he had already caught, tied to his waist. Two rabbits were enough for food, and he could sell the skins for what he needed. Still, it felt wasteful.
Thud!
The startled deer, caught in the trap, looked up at Abel, shaking one leg where it was caught.
“Calm down. I’ll let you go, so don’t worry.”
Whispering softly, he moved forward. To his surprise, the deer stopped thrashing, though fear remained in its eyes as it gazed at him. Abel smiled and gently stroked it.
“I’ll release the trap. Two rabbits were caught today.”
The deer didn’t understand the words, but it stared at him intently, its fear slowly subsiding. Abel, accustod to this, casually released the trap. It was always like this. The animals were not afraid of him.
Every ti they approached him without caution, Abel found it fascinating, though he didn’t know why. It was just normal for him, sothing he had known since childhood. As soon as the trap was opened, the deer darted to the side. Its leg, now bloodied, was peeled from the trap, but the deer quickly hopped away and hid between the trees, then watched Abel from a distance.
“Go quickly.”
Abel waved a few tis, and the deer finally rustled off into the forest. He stood there for a mont, wondering if it had made it safely, before turning back. Since the work had ended earlier than expected, he decided to take his master outside to enjoy the fresh air.
As he thought about it, his heart raced. His master had suffered greatly after everything, plagued by nightmares, and his body was no longer the sa. He spoke less, no longer scolded him, and didn’t train him to beco a Regas.
He couldn’t hide his anxious heart, even though he knew his master might be worried because of the dream. It was because of the fear that the worst—death—might co soon. Wiedel was his only family; he was like a parent to Abel. Even if his master spoke of absurd premonitions, Abel wanted to believe that his master was telling the truth.
As soon as he went down and felt the cold wind, he thought he would feel better. But when he arrived at the lodging, Wiedel was already outside. Abel, carrying his luggage, felt his heart skip a beat.
****
‘I have to go to the palace.’
lmond had been thinking for days, and now, he was on his way to et Truyde, the leader of another Regas faction and the closest confidant of the king. Though he didn’t expect imdiate access to Truyde, the guide led him to him unexpectedly.
Tick tock, tick tock.
The sound of footsteps echoed across the marble floor, amplifying lmond’s growing regret. Am I doing sothing unnecessary? Will they just laugh at ? Should I turn back now?
When the restlessness reached its peak, the door to the destination opened.
“Co in.”
lmond barely regained his composure at the guide’s voice, stepping forward with trembling steps. Where should he begin? What words should he use? As he bowed his head to organize his thoughts, a soothing voice broke the silence.
“What is a librarian doing here?”
lmond finally realized there was another guest in the room when he heard the familiar voice in his ear.
“....Hello, sir.”
To make a living, lmond suppressed his temper and pride and worked in the palace, though he occasionally grew angry. Most often, it was when he encountered this new attendant—a person who lived closer to the King’s Heart than the court. The revelations he overheard usually concerned whom the king would sleep with.
There were no such revelations, of course, but this attendant did everything to please the king, gaining the king’s trust. He had beco soone others ignored, calling him “just a librarian.”
“I have sothing important to tell Your Highness.”
lmond, with a stern face, looked at Truyde, who was rising from his seat. Truyde responded with a kind smile and added an explanation to the attendant.
“That’s right. I have sothing important to discuss with His Highness. Does the attendant have anything else to say to ?”
The young Duke, though in his twenties, was one of the key figures leading the country. The attendant, after a glance at lmond, bowed and stepped back. Only after confirming the door had closed did Truyde speak.
“Now that no one is here, can you speak?”
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